Apparatus for conditioning air



Oct. 13, 1936. p, NIXON 2,057,106

APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR Filed Oct. 24, 1952 INVENTOR ATTbRNEY Patented Oct. 13, 1936 APPARATUS FOB, CONDITIONING AIR Deane, L. Nixon, Kansas City, Mo.', assignorof one-half to Stanley M. Hall, Kansas City, Mo.

'Application October 24, 1932, Serial No. 639,201.

4 Claims.

My invention relates to a method of and apparatus for conditioning air, and more particularly to the cooling and dehumidifying of air in residences, ofiices, or other places where conditioning of air is desired.

, According to ordinary practice, air, to be cooled for lowering the temperature of a room or other area, is usually passed over or through a cooling medium such as a block of ice or a shower of water withthe result that in one instance temperature of the room is first lowered rapidly and the cooling effect diminished as the ice melts, with corresponding variation in dehumidification of the air, and in the other instance contact of the air stream with the water shower involves variables requiring complicated apparatus for production of change in temperature of the air being conditioned.

It is the object of my invention to provide a method and apparatus for conditioning air in areas like those above mentioned, in which the stream of air is not brought into direct contact with the cooling medium, thereby providing for a regulated and more uniform absorption of heat and humidity from the air being conditioned and avoiding necessity for complicated and expensive apparatus.

In accomplishing this object of the invention I effect the method steps with apparatus, the preferred form of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus illustrating air flow in response to operation of an ordinary electric fan, here shown merely as illustrative of means for producing the air stream.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central vertical section of the apparatus, particularly illustrating fiow of the air stream over the sides and beneath the cooling medium container.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the upper portion of the cooling medium container.

Referring more in detail to the drawing:

l designates the cooling medium container, here shown to consist of a metal can, square in cross section and of a size to contain an ordinary cake of artificial ice. The side walls 2 preferably meet at right angles forming thecorners 3, 4, 5, and 6.

The can I has a closed bottom 1 and an open top, the latter provided with outstanding rightangular flanges 8 for supporting a cover 9 having flanges I0 adapted to snugly fit within the upper portion of the can to substantially seal the interior thereof and form a seat for the periphery of the cover member on the can flanges 8. The cover, 9 is preferably stiffened by an inverted panlike member I I that may be welded or otherwise permanently secured to the cover member at the center thereof. A false bottom l2,preferably formed asan invertedv pan-like body having a perforated bottom l3 and sideflanges It, forms a chamber in the bottom of the can into which a melting ice cake. [5, supported on the .false bottom, may drain.

l6 and I! designate legs mounted on diagonal corners of the can I to support the can in tilted position when the ice cake I5 is positioned in the lower corner of the can. l8 designates a Weight of angle construction adapted to fit over the forward upper corner of the ice cake to retain the latter in place and in contact with the side walls of the can as the cake of ice melts, and thereby prevent floating of the cake on the water accumulating in the bottom of the can in response to the melting process.

I prefer to mount the can in a pan l9 having side Walls 20 for assisting in direction of an air stream in contact with the lower portions of the sides and with the bottom of the can. The air stream may be directed downwardly over the sides of and beneath the can by an electric fan 2| or other blowing agency.

In practicing my invention the can, charged with a cake of ice or other cooling medium, is properly positioned in the area to be air conditioned and the fan or other blower arranged to direct a stream of air downwardly over the lower portions of the side walls of the can and beneath the can so that the air stream contacts such wall portions and is cooled during its flow thereover, it being apparent that by thus directing the air currents the air, flowing along the can, will contact the coolest portions thereof, since the colder Water by thermo syphon action will move toward the lowermost part of the container while the warmer water rises to the surface.

When the cooling medium consists of a cake of ice, the ice melting forms a body of cool liquid in the lower portion of the can for continuing the cooling influence on the air current as the ice melts and even after the ice cake has been entirely transformed into 0001 water. By confining the cake of ice or other cooling medium, the air currents are kept from direct contact therewith so that the air is not humidified as in use of. the ordinary cooling apparatus but, on the contrary, is dehumidified by the giving up of its moisture content through condensation on the container and this action, as well as the cooling effect, is continued at relatively uniform efliciency during the entire operation. Also the speed of such action relative to a given quantity of cooling medium used can be regulated to the needs of the area to be conditioned by the use of metal or other substance of varying degrees of conductivity.

If ice-is used for the cooling medium the vessel may beffilled ny fieeiiiig the, merem or the container may be inverted and slipped over a block of ice of. a size to substantially fill the vesseLwhereupon the container is turned to up- 7 right position and placed in the stream iii;

It will be evident that a plurality-of containers could be positioned in a'single i r Y what 1 6mm aha asae to secure by letters n w .t A a *1. apparatus ofthe thara'cterdescribea'mciudinga-to'ntamer wracoon'n med um and mining diagona earners, "an legs onfsaid diagon l "carnerso fthe'container'forsupporting the-cbfitaiiiei in inclined position. j h a 2. Apparatusdfthe cliarabterdescribediiiclud ing a container for a cooling medium having side walls and diagonal corners, legs on said diagonal corners of the container for supporting the container in inclined position, and means in the container for retaining a block of cooling medium in contact with the lowermost of said side walls of the container.

3. Apparatus of the character described including *a container having diagonal comers, a false pei' for'aited bottom a li'duid collection chamber at the bottom of the container, and legs on said diagonal corners of the container for supporting the container on an intermediate "odirir and saw lee 4. In an air conditioning apparatus of the characteridescribed acontainer for a frozen cooling medium norn'ially fluid at ordinary tempera- "ttir's'afldinchidiri'g'a*pair of adjoining angularly divergent side walls having inner and outer con- 7 with the outer surfaces of 'said walls.

DEANE L. on. 

